Typical Saudi Middleclass Nuclear Family - Essay Example

Typical Saudi Middleclass Nuclear Family AbdilWahab is a 50 years old Saudi National, he was born and brought up in Dammam one of the largest cities in the country, his father had three wives and he was the first born of the youngest. His father Abdi was a strong believer in education and he ensured that all his children got the best education he could afford for them. Abdilwahab had gotten married at the age of 23 and he had two children one boy and a girl, they are both 15 and 21 respectively. His wife’s name is Ayan, when he married her she was 18 and had just finished high school, she had become a housewife and her main chores involved taking care of her husband and managing their vast stage home. Every morning, she prepares her family by making them breakfast before they leave for work or school. A typical day for her involves supervising and helping with the cleaning of the home, she then has the family driver take her to the market where she purchases provisions for the day before going back hope to prepare lunch. Her husband who runs his own business usually makes it home for lunch at around one and sometimes has a siesta before going back to the office where he stays until around 6 PM. In most scenarios in the Arab culture, the family revolves around the man who is expected to provide and protect his family; the woman in most cases takes care of the family and handles domestic concerns (Ertürk 4). Nevertheless, this is not universal and there are many Arab career women who hold professional positions, if they are married however, they will still be expected to look after domestic affairs. The children do not come home until 5 PM, Asha the daughter will normally greet her mother and go to her room to attend to her homework until 7 PM in the evening. Abdi is in college and unless he has a class project, he will watch TV or play video games, sometimes he will drive out to see his friends but almost always make his way back before 7. The family sits down to dinner at around 7: 30, the menu often reflects the diversity of rich Saudi cuisine. The food normally includes rice, some chicken or mutton, stewed vegetables and spiced tomato source. Side dishes and desert often include coffee ice cream and chocolate or soda, tea is also commonly served black with lots of sugar and spices such as rosemary. Dinnertime is very important for the family, in the Arab culture more so Saudi, families use dinnertime to get to talk and listen to each other about the day’s events. When they are eating together, they get to bond and strengthen their family unity; this is particularly in the occasions when they eat from one traditional platter (Al-Shahri 133). It symbolizes togetherness, a sign of trust and communal strength in the act of getting nourishment from a common plate. The parents take this chance to advice their children and since this is a modern family, they ask about their schoolwork. AbdilWahab sometimes talks about the company and narrates funny stories about his day at work; although his wife is not very talkative, she will engage her children in a discussion about the Koran and always reminds them to be faithful and upright Muslims. Prayer is a very important aspect of the day-to-day life of an Arab family, whenever possible they pray together in the house and on Fridays they all go to the mosque together. A lot of Arab culture is integrated with the Islam faith therefore in a sense being a good Arab closely related to being a good Muslim admittedly not all Arabs are Muslims. The dressing in Saudi is widely varied, sometimes people dress in the traditional robes but business suits and jeans and t-shirts are also common among the men. The first-born Abdi normally wears jeans to school although on Fridays he wears the traditional robes for the mosque, his mother will almost never wear western clothing while his sister prefers to combine both extremes. Their father on the other hand will hardly be seen in western dress unless he planning to go for a business meeting with foreign executives, he says it make them feel more at ease when he is dressed like them. Most of the time, he will dress in traditional robes which makes it easy for air to circulate around his body given that he spends a lot of time outdoors. The family is the basic social unit in the Arabic culture, for most people it is more important that one is loyal to their family than themselves. Therefore, children are expected to conduct themselves with decorum and dignity especially outside their homes. Well-behaved children reflect positively on their parents and since when a child is honoured, the family as a unit shares the praise, the same case applies when one is dishonoured. Abdi is enthusiastic about soccer and hopes to join the country’s national team in future; he often takes part in intercollege games where he plays in the position of a defender. Whenever there is a major game, his father gets off work early to go watch his son play, he is very proud of him and spares no cost to ensure that he gets the best training equipment. In his opinion, his son’s achievements are by extension those of the family and hopes that he becomes a great player one day. However, he is equally concerned about his studies, he is a second year Law student and his father is also very proud and constantly encourages him work hard and excels both professionally and in sports. Although his daughter is an excellent scholar still in high school he does not have as big dreams for her, he wants her to become a nurse or perhaps a doctor, a career suited for a woman in his community (Tlaiss & Kauser 9). Since he is the only son, it is taken for granted that Abdi will be the heir to his father’s company and business; therefore, he wants him to study laws so he can start working in the family business, which he is eventually expected to take over. This is often the case for many Arab families, the son is supposed to inherit his father’s property or at least be in charge of managing it in his absence. Modesty is both a religious and cultural factor for Saudis, in their home, the family members dress pretty much anyway they wish and their mother occasionally wears western clothing. However, outside the homestead she is always well covered with only her eyes and feet showing, the latter are however often covered in beautiful henna patterns (Arshad 186). She rarely drives and most times when she wants to go shopping, she has her son or her husband’s driver accompany her. Although Asha sometimes wears western clothing, her father frowns upon this but he does not like to interfere with her freedom. Unlike her father, she hopes to pursue business administration and become an entrepreneur just like him as opposed to working for him. Like all other families, the typical Arab family is characterized with individuals who share blood ties but whose outlook and goals in life are different. The family unit is in most cases strengthened by the culture in which they are immersed; Abidilwahab’s family is greatly influenced by both the Saudi and Muslim cultures. Works Cited Al-Shahri, Mohammad Zafir. "Culturally sensitive caring for Saudi patients."Journal of Transcultural Nursing 13.2 (2002): 133-138. Arshad, Aisha. "6.3 Personal perspective: Muslim gifted–religious education in Saudi Arabia." Diversity in Gifted Education: International Perspectives on Global Issues (2006): 186. Ertürk, Yakin. "Considering the role of men in gender agenda setting: conceptual and policy issues." Feminist Review 78.1 (2004): 3-21. Tlaiss, Hayfaa., & Kauser, Saleema. (2011). The impact of gender, family, and work on the career advancement of Lebanese women managers. Gender in Management: An International Journal, 26(1), 8-36. Read More